The American sense of reality is dictated by what Americans are trying to avoid. If you're trying to avoid reality, how can you face it?
James Baldwin, ABC 20/20 Profile, (unaired) , 1979
This time last year, despite the alarming number of Americans dying from COVID-19, Donald Trump declared the pandemic nothing more than a hoax. The "Dear Leader" mocked Dr. Anthony Fauci's pleas to Americans to safe. You have freedoms, Trump told his supporters. Who is Fauci to take away your freedoms!
This year, thanks to the success of COVID vaccines such Pfizer and Moderna, Americans are ready to celebrate freedom and the Fourth of July.
I've decided to stay put.
It's always something. Here, in the state of Wisconsin, Senator Ron Johnson's country, I cast my mail-in ballot, back in November, for Bernie. After the January 6, 2021 insurrection, some 48 states have been busy creating and legislating restrictive voting-rights bills. The last count was at 389--that is, 389 bills to suppress the right to vote!
Here, again, I have to ask, at this juncture in American history, what is it this time that white America fears? What is it that this nations wants more than anything because, it's clear, democracy isn't it. And if it's freedom then freedom to do what? Is there something that some Americans feel holds them back?
It's not only about voting rights!
When it functions at its best, America is a confrontation if not a critical engagement with American history. When America witnesses black Americans defying the imposing of restrictive laws and the practice of terrorism by other Americans on their lives, it is witnessing democracy struggling to take hold and become a mainstay in this nation.
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
